Judge honored for domestic violence prevention

Alamance County Chief District Court Judge Jim Roberson was recognized this week for his work streamlining a process to prevent domestic violence.

The N.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence awarded Roberson with the Men for Change Award at its annual banquet Wednesday. Roberson helped implement the county’s Domestic Violence Electronic Protective Order System, which allows women and families to apply for protective orders at the Family Justice Center.

Before, domestic abuse victims had to visit four different sites to obtain temporary protective orders: Family Abuse Services, the Alamance County Clerk of Superior Court, the Alamance County judges’ office, and the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.

The automated program launched in June. It’s the first of its kind in the state and among the first in the nation.

After someone initiates the order online at the Family Justice Center, a court advocate there reviews the order and sends it to the clerk of court’s office. The plaintiff is sworn in via a video conference, and the complaint is filed electronically. The clerk’s office sets a hearing date, issues an electronic summons and sends the draft order to the presiding judge. The judge conducts a hearing with the victim by video conference and rules on the temporary protective order.

The rest of the administrative process also is handled electronically, and the sheriff’s department gets electronic copies of the order and can serve them.

The old process took as long as 15 hours to complete. The electronic submission and approval process cuts that time in half.

Roberson and others in Alamance County — including leaders at the Family Justice Center, Alamance County Family Abuse Services and the clerk of court’s office — pursued the system beginning in 2004. The N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts created the computer program needed to run the system.

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